Beginners Courses

Don't believe anyone who tells you that you should have started young, that you need a special gift, or that the fiddle is impossibly hard to play. These urban myths stop so many from getting so much!

Short regular practice is all it really takes, a lot of listening to your favourite players and a bit of time... But that's not time spent waiting till you're 'good', it's time spent learning to enjoy where you are at every given moment - an approach which can have profound knock-on effects on all areas of your life. (See testimonial page)

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

        •  That it's never too late to start.

•  That you don’t have to be that good to get loads out of it – fun, relaxation, a sense of achievement, improved decision-making, problem-solving and listening skills, something to do between meals, self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence, fun, lower blood pressure, higher alpha-brain-wave production, fun, creativity, escape, free pints, longevity, more friends, self-acceptance, tidy finger nails, spiritual rebirth and fun.

WHAT WE WILL TEACH YOU

         • How to teach yourself.

         • What, why and how to practice.

         • How to make a beautiful sound from the very start.

         • The importance of giving yourself permission

            to sound awful!       

         • Common pitfalls to avoid.

WHAT YOU WILL TAKE HOME 

         • The ability to play at least one fiddle tune.

         • A solid foundation of good technique.

         • A tuition tape, picking up from your last lesson.

         • A fuller address book.

         • Great memories of Ireland.

These courses are designed to give you the best possible introduction to fiddle playing and would be a good grounding for anyone wanting to go on to learn other musical styles/languages - Scottish, Eastern European, Welsh, Bluegrass, Old Timey (and with some theory, Classical or Jazz.)

Irish music, like other languages, is best learned by ear, so there's next to no musical theory on this course. Instead you'll just be copying sounds, making patterns and creating effects - playing music! There will be a lot of emphasis on preparation and balance and an inordinate amount of emphasis on the benefits of laziness!

All group courses are kept small, the atmosphere's informal and tea and c ake breaks feature large! Courses are held throughout the year, except for the Christmas week and Beginners courses will still run, at the same cost, even if there's only one student booked in for that week.

The fiddles you'll be playing are all of good quality and are professionally set up. if you want to carry on playing when you get home, we'll give you details of where to order good 'starter fiddles' from a reputable company on the Internet.  These fiddles can be delivered to your home address.

At the end of the week, we'll give you a list of recommended CD's, some useful web site addresses - interactive chatrooms, interactive fiddle tuition and details of some computer software, that makes learning new tunes an absolute doddle! We'll also give you the names of some good books to follow up some of the stuff covered on the course - classical violin technique/the history of Irish music/approach to music making.

Some of these you'll be able to get in Kenmare, the rest can be ordered off the 'interweb'